St. Wapniacl is a

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

which was used for decades to help remember the offices of the U.S. Cabinet, in their order of creation and importance. The cabinet offices referred to by the mnemonic were

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, Attorney General,

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, Interior,

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

, and

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Obsolescence

This mnemonic has been obsolete since 1947 when the Departments of

and the

were combined into the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

by the National Security Act of 1947. The usefulness of this mnemonic has been further eroded by the following changes to the U.S. cabinet since 1947: *In 1953, the

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

was created. *In 1965, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was formed. *In 1966, the Department of Transportation was created. *In 1971, the

ceased to be a cabinet-level position. *In 1977, the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

was formed. *In 1979, the

was divided into the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. *In 1988, the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

was created. *In 2003, the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

was created. Although obsolete for over 70 years, St. Wapniacl can still be found to be referenced on occasion, such as in John Updike's The Centaur.

Suggestions for replacement

A 1988 editorial in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' first suggested a new mnemonic which has later been revised to become: "See The Dog Jump In A Circle; Leave Her House To Entertain Educated Veterans' Homes", corresponding to the names of the departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice (headed by the Attorney General), Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. A similar mnemonic exists for the Cabinet level positions: Emit U.E.S.S.C. It stands for Environment, Management and Budget, Intelligence, Trade, United Nations, Economic Advisors, Small Business, Science and Technology, and Chief of Staff, each of which roughly describes the jurisdiction of their positions.

References

{{Reflist

Literature

* Hart, Kenneth D., ''Visualized Problems of American Democracy'', New York: Oxford Book Company, 1936. Cabinet of the United States Mnemonics

Obsolescence

Suggestions for replacement

See also

References

Literature